신호등

The most common way to say 'traffic light' in Korean is 신호등 (sin-ho-deung).

You can pronounce 신호등 as 'sin-ho-deung'. The '신' sounds like the 'sin' in 'sincere', '호' sounds like 'ho' in 'hotel', and '등' sounds like 'deung' in 'dungarees' (but with a softer 'd').

Certainly! Here's an example:

신호등이 빨간 불이에요. (Sin-ho-deungi ppal-gan bur-i-e-yo.)
This means 'The traffic light is red.'

While 신호등 is the standard and most common term, you might occasionally hear just 신호 (sin-ho) which means 'signal', but in the context of traffic, it often implies 'traffic light'. However, stick with 신호등 for clarity.

The word 신호등 is a compound word. 신호 (sin-ho) means 'signal' and 등 (deung) means 'light'. So, it literally translates to 'signal light'.

You could ask:

신호등이 어디에 있어요? (Sin-ho-deungi eo-di-e i-sseo-yo?)
This translates to 'Where is the traffic light?'

신호 (sin-ho) is a more general term for 'signal'. It can refer to any kind of signal (e.g., a hand signal, a sound signal). 신호등 (sin-ho-deung) specifically refers to the 'traffic light' or 'signal light' that controls traffic.

You can say:

초록불 (cho-rok-bul) for 'green light' (literally 'green fire') or 파란불 (pa-ran-bul) for 'blue light' which is also commonly used for green traffic lights.

And for 'red light': 빨간불 (ppal-gan-bul) (literally 'red fire').

Yes, 신호등 is a neutral term and is perfectly polite to use in any context, including when speaking to elders.

While there aren't many common idioms directly using 신호등, you'll hear it often in phrases related to driving directions or describing traffic situations. For example:

다음 신호등에서 좌회전하세요. (Da-eum sin-ho-deung-e-seo jwa-hoe-jeon-ha-se-yo.)
This means 'Turn left at the next traffic light.'